A Sweet Date with Health

Date is a healthy and tasty fruit, which can enrich our day-to-day diet and can add more sweetness and health to our eating out adventures. One cannot be certain about the geography of its origin, but it is commonly believed to be originated in the Fertile Crescent region, which lies between Egypt and the ancient Mesopotamia. It is also believed that the date palm tree, which bears date fruit, originated in present day Iraq.

- Jhuma Biswas

Fertile Crescent region is also known as the ‘cradle of civilisation’, as development of writing, agriculture, glass and wheel took place there only. The area runs through many present day countries of the Middle-East and Africa such as Iraq, Israel/ Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Jordon, Egypt, Turkey, Iran among others.

Date trees or date palm trees generally vary 21-23 metres in height. The fruits are oval shaped. The colour of date fruits range from bright red to bright yellow. But most of the dates we found in India are brown in colour. Dates contain approximately 75 percent sugar when dried.

A Rich History

Date is not only rich in sugar but also in history. The evidence of date cultivation is close to at least nine thousand years old. Since the beginning of human civilisation dates are having a date with us. According to Wikipedia, the archaeological evidence of date cultivation in Arabia dates to the 6th millennium BC. Evidence of date cultivation in a Neolithic civilisation goes back to 7000 BC. The fruit was the staple food in the Indus Valley Civilisation and the Middle-East for many millennia. The ancient Egyptians used to make date wine from dates.

With the development of trade, the dates spread their sweetness to Southwest Asia, Northern Africa, and Spain. Dates were introduced to Mexico and South America during the Spanish conquests. Dates were introduced in the US in the middle of the eighteenth century.

Production, Types and Cultivation

According to FAO, Egypt was the top producer of dates in 2016, followed by Iran, Algeria and Saudi Arabia respectively. In India, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are the major date growing states. Lots of varieties of dates are cultivated across the world; Iraq alone has 100 kinds of dates.